I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication, and more specifically to techniques for supporting location services.
II. Background
It is often desirable, and sometimes necessary, to know the location of a terminal, e.g., a cellular phone. The terms “location” and “position” are synonymous and are used interchangeably herein. For example, a location services (LCS) client may desire to know the location of the terminal. The terminal may then communicate with a location server to obtain a location estimate for the terminal. The terminal or the location server may then return the location estimate to the LCS client.
A message flow (which may also be referred to as a call flow or a procedure) may be executed whenever the LCS client desires to know the location of the terminal Various messages may be exchanged between the terminal and the location server via one or more network entities for the message flow. These messages may ensure that each entity is provided with pertinent information in order to support positioning of the terminal. However, these messages add to the traffic at various entities.
The LCS client may desire to know the location of the terminal whenever certain conditions are triggered. The location server may be tasked with performing various functions to detect for trigger conditions and to send a location estimate to the LCS client whenever a triggered condition is detected. However, these functions may complicate the design and operation of the location server, especially if the location server is required to perform these functions for a large number of terminals. Alternatively, the terminal may be tasked with performing various functions to detect for trigger conditions and to send a location estimate to the LCS client whenever a triggered condition is detected. In this case, it would be desirable for the terminal to be able to efficiently communicate with the location server when and as required.